Moving house - advice?

[Stick]

So I've recently found out that my family and I will be moving house, which is to take place in the middle of the next semester. I've never moved before and it's something that has me quite stressed out as I assume it will be a pretty significant disruption. My parents keep reassuring my sister and I that all we need to be responsible for is the stuff in our rooms, but I know that when the time comes around and everyone is stressed that I'll probably need to do more. Besides, I'd probably want to do more anyway because my sister is in VCE and I want to make sure that she gets the best chance of being able to succeed like I did at the time, so I'd be keen to help reduce her burden a bit.

I'm still working through the impacts on my own study - it will inevitably have an effect but truth be told my marks in this last semester of undergraduate study probably don't matter that much, so it's just a matter of coming to terms with that. I've deliberately chosen subjects that have more assignment work rather than mid-semester tests and exams as I think I'll better manage getting these done than trying to keep up with lectures and fit study and revision time into my busy schedule. (Maybe I should have done a winter intensive to reduce the workload - whoops.) I also hope to become a lot more efficient in my study so that I spend less time reviewing the material, but doing it more effectively (e.g. actually using my laptop for study - something I should do anyway to make sure I don't lose books or stuff).

In terms of my room, I've cleaned it out of anything I don't want to keep already and I have a fairly good idea of how I want things packed. Thankfully, we'll only be moving to the next suburb along so it's not terribly far, and I'd probably be happy to live out of boxes for a while after the move and worry about unpacking once the semester is over. Both my parents intend to take time off so that will also help too. I guess the majority of the burden won't fall on me given it won't be my responsibility to redirect utilities and stuff, probably just take care of some things like mail for things I've given my current address to.

This is obviously something that's turned out rather specific to my situation, and a forum like this isn't necessarily targeted towards these sorts of things, but I was kind of hoping that in raising it the compiled advice could be useful for someone else who happens to find themselves moving during a busy time. From friends I tend to get two responses - either that it's actually over pretty quickly (like a few days) and that it's not as bad that I'm making it out to be, or that it takes a while (weeks) and is indeed a really stressful time. If you have any advice about managing study, moving efficiently or any other nifty moving hacks I'd really appreciate hearing them. Thank you so much for the help.

[ssarahj]

If you have any advice about managing study, moving efficiently or any other nifty moving hacks I'd really appreciate hearing them. Thank you so much for the help.

Hey Stick!
I've moved house quite a few times now, even interstate, and I actually just moved about a month ago so I'm definitely here to help!! I'm currently completing my HSC (Year 12 in NSW) so it was fairly stressful leading up to moving but since you have a lot of time leading up you should be able to find time to get organised! Also since you've already cleaned out your stuff and have already given this quite a bit of thought it'll be WAY easier!

Here's some of my tips/plan of attack:
- pack everything that you knew you won't need (e.g. books, random keepsakes etc.) and label it all really clearly on the boxes so that you know what you need to unpack first at the other end
*my mum and I actually numbered every box in the whole house and made an excel spreadsheet with each box and its contents so we didn't lose anything (a bit over the top but it worked  )*
- leave any school work/other essentials that you need during the move (including laptop etc.) and put it all in a bag and either carry it with you or left it in your car etc. so it's out of the way. this means that when you get to your new house it shouldn't be too bad as long since you have the essentials with you then you can unpack at your own pace when you're less busy
- try to plan your time carefully leading up to the move e.g. getting a good start on your assignments and stuff so that you have a bit of breathing time to help out your family and get yourself settled without putting extra pressure and stress on yourself

Remember the absolute key is ORGANISATION.

I know its your first time moving so it can seem really overwhelming but trust me when I say that if you're organised and prepared it can be a really exciting and fun time!!! Good luck!!!

[Adequace]

Honestly, I think you're stressing about this too much. I've moved around quite a bit where I lived before coming to Australia in Year 9, and have moved around here as well.

It shouldn't impact your studies or your sisters too much unless you're unable to get your furniture and stuff to your new home within a day. You'd probably have to give up a day of studying minimum, it's a bit exhausting disassembling and reassembling your furniture for the majority of the day...

You might be a bit stuffed if your new place doesn't have internet though..

[MagicGecko]

hahaha new-house syndrome affects the best of us 

Take this from someone that's moved houses often;  its all in your head.
Sounds cliche but its true.

When I moved the suburb over in my second year, I was kinda worried, since I was also juggling an internship. I also have a brother and sister that were in VCE (year 11 and 12 at the time), so I get you with your sister.
I remember questions kept popping up into my head before I went to sleep:
How can I manage my workload without a room? No internet? I could just work at school for as long as possible, but I need to get home before it gets too dark. I can't just go to the library and work there everyday, I need to help pack everything and clean as well (trust me with a family of 8 in 1 house, there was a long checklist to be checked). etc, etc.

In the end, the build up to moving was a lot more stressful than the actual transition period hahaha.

Everything was just as normal as ever, the only difference being that when I got home from either uni or my internship, instead of studying at my desk after eating, I would help pack up boxes or throw things out until everyone called it quits for the day. Then I would just study until I went to sleep.
Same for the weekend, I would help for the majority of the morning and afternoon and then study in the evening on the freshly waxed floorboards 

I suppose you just have to experience it first to understand how smooth moving houses can be.

p.s might be obvious, but pack up your internet modem (if you have one) last

[Stick]

Hey Stick!
I've moved house quite a few times now, even interstate, and I actually just moved about a month ago so I'm definitely here to help!! I'm currently completing my HSC (Year 12 in NSW) so it was fairly stressful leading up to moving but since you have a lot of time leading up you should be able to find time to get organised! Also since you've already cleaned out your stuff and have already given this quite a bit of thought it'll be WAY easier!

Here's some of my tips/plan of attack:
- pack everything that you knew you won't need (e.g. books, random keepsakes etc.) and label it all really clearly on the boxes so that you know what you need to unpack first at the other end
*my mum and I actually numbered every box in the whole house and made an excel spreadsheet with each box and its contents so we didn't lose anything (a bit over the top but it worked  )*
- leave any school work/other essentials that you need during the move (including laptop etc.) and put it all in a bag and either carry it with you or left it in your car etc. so it's out of the way. this means that when you get to your new house it shouldn't be too bad as long since you have the essentials with you then you can unpack at your own pace when you're less busy
- try to plan your time carefully leading up to the move e.g. getting a good start on your assignments and stuff so that you have a bit of breathing time to help out your family and get yourself settled without putting extra pressure and stress on yourself

Remember the absolute key is ORGANISATION.

I know its your first time moving so it can seem really overwhelming but trust me when I say that if you're organised and prepared it can be a really exciting and fun time!!! Good luck!!!

Hello! Thank you very much for the help! I actually love the idea of numbering the boxes and recording that in an Excel spreadsheet! I'm going to tell my dad this; he'll love it.

Honestly, I think you're stressing about this too much. I've moved around quite a bit where I lived before coming to Australia in Year 9, and have moved around here as well.

It shouldn't impact your studies or your sisters too much unless you're unable to get your furniture and stuff to your new home within a day. You'd probably have to give up a day of studying minimum, it's a bit exhausting disassembling and reassembling your furniture for the majority of the day...

You might be a bit stuffed if your new place doesn't have internet though..

Thanks for the help. Thankfully most of our furniture is going (a lot of it is damaged or broken with wear and tear over the years and we've just been putting up with it for the time being) but the furniture in my sister's room and my room will be coming with us. These all fit through the door except for the bed but apparently the bed head snaps off so I won't have to disassemble it too much. This is in contrast with my mum's sewing room, where we're going to have to take the window out in order to remove the industrial sewing machine and all the other materials.

Ooh, I didn't think about internet. My dad will have to take care of that but I should make sure this is something he's thought of. I can make do with phone Wi-Fi although that's not going to work well with lectures, in which case working more at the library could be an option.

hahaha new-house syndrome affects the best of us 

Take this from someone that's moved houses often;  its all in your head.
Sounds cliche but its true.

When I moved the suburb over in my second year, I was kinda worried, since I was also juggling an internship. I also have a brother and sister that were in VCE (year 11 and 12 at the time), so I get you with your sister.
I remember questions kept popping up into my head before I went to sleep:
How can I manage my workload without a room? No internet? I could just work at school for as long as possible, but I need to get home before it gets too dark. I can't just go to the library and work there everyday, I need to help pack everything and clean as well (trust me with a family of 8 in 1 house, there was a long checklist to be checked). etc, etc.

In the end, the build up to moving was a lot more stressful than the actual transition period hahaha.

Everything was just as normal as ever, the only difference being that when I got home from either uni or my internship, instead of studying at my desk after eating, I would help pack up boxes or throw things out until everyone called it quits for the day. Then I would just study until I went to sleep.
Same for the weekend, I would help for the majority of the morning and afternoon and then study in the evening on the freshly waxed floorboards 

I suppose you just have to experience it first to understand how smooth moving houses can be.

p.s might be obvious, but pack up your internet modem (if you have one) last

I was reading this and I was like "this is so me" hahaha. I have to admit that I've had those thoughts at night too. o_o Thank you very much for the help and the reassurance. I'll also bear in mind for the internet to be one of the last things to go, but this could be out of my control. We'll have to wait and see.

m8 all my school friends and I had to move like 3 and a half hours away to Melb for uni in our first years, I'm sure you will survive moving to literally the suburb next to where you are now, especially when you will still be living with your family.

Thanks. Oddly enough, the emotional side of living in a different home is not that big for me - once I get over the hurdle it should be rather exciting.